Valparaíso declaration for improved scientific communication in the electronic medium

On January 14 and 15,2004, on the campus ofthe Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV) in Valparaiso, Chile, a workshop was held on the possibilities of electronic publication, in which 120 delegates from 15 countries participated. At the end it was written a Declaration in favour of the scientific rigor, quality, professionality, and open access

Measuring social capital and innovation in poor agricultural communities: The case of Cháparra, Peru

In the last decades substantive advance has been made in the measurement and understanding of frontier innovation in highly industrialized settings. However, little research focused on the process of learning and the introduction of novelties in smallholder farming of poor agricultural communities. Considering that 1.5 billion people in developing countries live in such smallholder households this is an essential shortcoming. In addressing three crucial questions about the measurement and promotion of endogenous local development this paper contributes to close this research gap. The three questions are: a) how can we measure social capital and innovation in poor agricultural communities, b) what is the impact of external agents on local structures and c) what are the relations between the social capital and the innovative performance of the farmer. In a first step a comprehensive questionnaire with 89 questions on diverse dimensions of social capital and innovation has been elaborated and applied to the agricultural valley of Cháparra in the South of Peru. The results allow for an indepth analysis of the capabilities, network position and innovative behavior of the farmers. In a second step, we apply social network analysis techniques to analyze the role and position of the relevant actors in the local as well as in the external technical information networks with a special focus on the influence of an external NGO. The analysis reveals a deep structural impact of the NGO and significant correlations between the network position of the farmers and their innovative performance. Three crucial issues for research on smallholder innovation are identified. First, diverse dimensions of social capital and innovation have to be differentiated when studying endogenous development. Second, it has to be assessed to which degree the modification of the existing social structures by external agents can be harmful or beneficial. Third, social network analysis can help us to gain a better understanding of the complex relations between social capital and innovation and how these can contribute to foster sustainable development projects. --social capital,innovation,smallholders,Cháparra,Peru,network analysis

Distributed Linear Precoding and User Selection in Coordinated Multicell Systems

In this manuscript we tackle the problem of semi-distributed user selection with distributed linear precoding for sum rate maximization in multiuser multicell systems. A set of adjacent base stations (BS) form a cluster in order to perform coordinated transmission to cell-edge users, and coordination is carried out through a central processing unit (CU). However, the message exchange between BSs and the CU is limited to scheduling control signaling and no user data or channel state information (CSI) exchange is allowed. In the considered multicell coordinated approach, each BS has its own set of cell-edge users and transmits only to one intended user while interference to non-intended users at other BSs is suppressed by signal steering (precoding). We use two distributed linear precoding schemes, Distributed Zero Forcing (DZF) and Distributed Virtual Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (DVSINR). Considering multiple users per cell and the backhaul limitations, the BSs rely on local CSI to solve the user selection problem. First we investigate how the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) regime and the number of antennas at the BSs affect the effective channel gain (the magnitude of the channels after precoding) and its relationship with multiuser diversity. Considering that user selection must be based on the type of implemented precoding, we develop metrics of compatibility (estimations of the effective channel gains) that can be computed from local CSI at each BS and reported to the CU for scheduling decisions. Based on such metrics, we design user selection algorithms that can find a set of users that potentially maximizes the sum rate. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed metrics and algorithms for different configurations of users and antennas at the base stations.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

La geografía frente a la aparente dicotomía de lo efímero - permanente

Fil: Anastasi, Atilio. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Departamento de Geografí

The civil war in Syria and the nuclear program in Iran. Two fundamental problems in the Middle East

En el siguiente artículo abordaremos dos grandes conflictos que se desarrollan en el Medio Oriente estrechamente relacionados entre sí. En primer lugar, haremos referencia a las características geopolíticas de la región y luego al interés de Irán de consoThis article offers insights into two present-day conflicts unfolding in the Middle East: Syria's civil war and tensions arising from Iran's nuclear proliferation policy. For the Syrian case study, the author offers and overview of key historic factors t

Pattern Based Security Requirement Derivation with Security Risk-aware Secure Tropos

Informatsioonisüsteem (IS) toetab suurt hulka modernse ühiskonna jaoks olulisi funktsioone. IS sisaldab üha suurenevat hulka andmeid ja informatsiooni, sealhulgas per-sonaalseid pilte ja andmeid tervise või finantstehingute kohta. Üha suurenev küberrünna-kute arv on tinginud vajaduse turvaliste infosüsteemide kiiremaks loomiseks. Et arendada turvalist IS-i, tuleb tuvastada turbe-eesmärgid ning need vastavalt ellu viia. Tulemuspõhine arendus tagab turbe-eesmärkide tulemuslikkuse, pakkudes metodoloogiat, mis võimaldab turvalisuse nõuete induktsiooni läbi kogu informatsioonisüsteemi arenduse protsessi. See on saavutatav, kui võtta igat süsteemikomponenti kui eesmärgile orienteeritud osa. Olgugi, et tulemuspõhine modelleerimine on kasulikuks osutunud, on sellel ka mõningaid puudu-seid. Peamine puudus peitub detailsuses, mille tõttu see protsess võib lühikese ajaga muu-tuda komplekseks, tõstes ka kogu ülejäänut protsessi keerukusetaset. Seetõttu on oluline kasutada struktureeritud lähenemisviisi, mis võimaldab kogu protsessi jooksul samm-sammulist juhendit rakendada. Turvalisuse mustrid on korduvkasutatavadja võimaldavad lahendada tarkvaraarenduse protsessi käigus sagedasti ilmnevaid probleeme. Käesolevas magistritöös uuritakse mustripõhise turvanõuete kogumise protsessi integreerimist, tule-muspõhise IS-i arendamisel. Selle eesmärgiks on SRP’d (Security Risk-oriented Patterns) kasutades pakkuda protsessi, mis võimaldab turvanõuete induktsiooni RAST (Security Risk-aware Secure Tropos) mudelis. RAST on turvalisuse tulemuspõhise modelleerimise keel, mis on kohaldatav läbi kogu tarkvaraarenduse protsessi nii varasematele kui hilisema-tele nõudlustele, arhitektuurile, üksikasjalikule projekteerimisele kui ka lõplikule rakenda-misele. Käesoleva magistritöö panus on viie SRP avaldamine, kasutades selleks RAST mo-delleerimise keelt. Töös tuuakse välja sammud, mida väljapakutud turvalisuse mustrite ra-kendamiseks kasutada. Töö autor annab omapoolse panuse viies läbi juhtumiuuringu, mis kinnitab autori poolt pakutud mustrite üldise kasutamisest selle rakenduse protsessist. Juh-tumiuuringust selgus ka, et töös välja pakutud mustreid on võimalik kasutada süsteemi analüüsi alguspunktina, et kiirendada turvalisuse nõuete väljaselgitamisprotsessi ning seda efektiivsemaks muuta.Information systems (IS’s) support a multitude of functions vital to the modern society. IS’s carry an ever increasing volume of data and information, including personal pictures, health data or financial transactions. Continuously increasing rates of cyber-attacks have led to the subsequent need to rapidly develop secure IS. To develop secure IS’s, security goals need to be identified and fulfilled accordingly. Goal-oriented development fulfils the achievement of security goal by providing a methodology that enables security requirement elicitation throughout the entire development of an information system. This is achieved by considering every component of a system as an actor that is driven by goals that the actor strives to achieve. Nevertheless goal-oriented modeling has proven itself to be valid it maintains multiple shortcomings. The main disadvantage lays in the high granularity of the process making it complex very fast and subsequently raising the level of complexity of the overall process. Therefore a structured approach that would provide a step-by-step guide throughout the application of the process would be essential. Security patterns are proven to be reusable solutions that address recurring security problems which are commonly faced during the process of software development. In this master thesis we investigate the integration of a pattern based security requirement elicitation process in the goal-oriented IS development. By performing this integration we aim at providing a process that enables the elicitation of security requirements from Security Risk-aware Secure Tropos (RAST) models. RAST is a security goal-oriented modeling language that is applicable throughout the complete process of software development from early to late requirements, architecture, detailed design and final implementation. The contribution of this thesis are five Security Risk-aware Patterns expressed using RAST. The thesis outlines the steps to be executed to apply the proposed security patterns. We validated our contribution by performing a case study that confirmed the overall usability of our proposed patterns and the pattern application process. Additionally the case study determined that the provided patterns can be used as a starting point for a faster and more efficient in identifying security requirements

Predation risk modifies behaviour by shaping the response of identified brain neurons

Interpopulation comparisons in species that show behavioural variations associated with particular ecological disparities offer good opportunities for assessing how environmental factors may foster specific functional adaptations in the brain. Yet, studies on the neural substrate that can account for interpopulation behavioural adaptations are scarce. Predation is one of the strongest driving forces for behavioural evolvability and, consequently, for shaping structural and functional brain adaptations. We analysed the escape response of crabs Neohelice granulata from two isolated populations exposed to different risks of avian predation. Individuals from the high-risk area proved to be more reactive to visual danger stimuli (VDS) than those from an area where predators are rare. Control experiments indicate that the response difference was specific for impending visual threats. Subsequently, we analysed the response to VDS of a group of giant brain neurons that are thought to play a main role in the visually guided escape response of the crab. Neurons from animals of the population with the stronger escape response were more responsive to VDS than neurons from animals of the less reactive population. Our results suggest a robust linkage between the pressure imposed by the predation risk, the response of identified neurons and the behavioural outcome.Fil: Magani, Fiorella. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Luppi, Tomas Atilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Nuñez, Jesus Dario. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Tomsic, Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentin

Differences in Dolphin Mortality Rates in Night and Day Sets for the U.S. Eastern Tropical Pacific Tuna Purse Seine Fishery

Because dolphins sometimes travel with yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP), purse seiners use the dolphins to locate and capture tuna schools. During the process of setting the purse seine nets, dolphins often become entangled and drown before they can be released. Data for the U.S. purse seine fleet in the ETP during 1979-88 show that dolphin mortality rates in sets made during the night are higher than mortality rates in sets made during the day. Even with efforts to reduce nightset mortality rates through the use of high intensity floodlights, night set mortality rates remain higher. The data are also used to simulate a regulation on the fishery aimed at eliminating night sets and show that dolphin mortality rates would decrease

Cambios en elrango de distribución dePotentilla tucumanensis (Rosaceae), una especie críptica en peligro de extinción

Una correcta identificación taxonómica es esencial para la preservación de la biodiversidad. En este trabajo se presentan caracteres morfológicos sencillos para diferenciar la nueva especip, Potentilla tucumanensis recientemente descripta. Esta especie, cuyo período reproductivo ocupa el 10% final de su ciclo de vida, es considerada críptica debido a que puede ser confundida por su similitud en estado vegetativo, con especies con las cuales cohabita y está aislada reproductivamente. Además, se muestra que en los últimos cien años, P. tucumanensis ha sufrido una dramática retracción de su hábitat: desde 1900 a 1925 se encontraron ejemplares de esta planta distribuidos en diferentes ambientes ecológicos de la reglón del noroeste argentino, mientras que en la actualidad, esta especie es raramente encontrada y siempre confinada a un sólo tipo de hábitat. Se discuten las posibles causas de este proceso de retracción. Si P. tucumanensis no hubiese sido reconocida como una especie nueva, probablemente hubiese desaparecido sin dejar rastro de su existencia.: A correct taxonomic identification is essential for the preservation of biodiversity. In this paper we present simple morphological characters for the identification of the new species recently described, Potentilla tucumanensis. The reproductive period of this species occupies about 10% of the last part of its lifecycle, is considered cryptic because in the vegetative stage it has many morphological similarities with other cohabiting related species; it can be easily confused with them and it is reproductively isolated. Our study also revealed that for the last hundred years P. tucumanensis has suffered a dramatic habitat retraction. Possible causes of this area retraction are discussed. IfPtucumanensis had not been recognized asa new species, it would have most likely disappeared without being noticed.Fil: Arias, Marta Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Diaz Ricci, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Castagnaro, Atilio Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentin